Bag-opening dispenser and method

ABSTRACT

Merchandise bags such as grocery bags are stored in a container horizontally, with the folded-over bottom of the bag facing upwardly. The front edge of the upper wall of the bag is gripped and pulled longitudinally and upwardly while the bottom edge of the bag is held by a weighted bar. The bar holds the bag until it has been pulled open. Then, the continued pull on the bag slides it out from under the bar and out of the container. The bag is open and ready to be packed full of merchandise by the check-out cashier or bagging employee.

[ 1 Dec. 11, 1973 United States Patent 91 Fried BAG-OPENING DISPENSER AND METHOD [75] Inventor: Sidney Fried, Ridgefield, Conn. Primary Exami'fer Travis McGehee Att0rneyCurt1s et al. [73] Assignee:

Speedcheck Systems, Inc., Ridgefield Park, NJ.

[57] ABSTRACT Merchandise bags such as grocery bags are stored in a container horizontally, with the folded-over bottom of [22] Filed: June 21, 1971 Appl. No.: 154,893

the bag facing upwardly. The front edge of the upper [52] US. wall of the bag is gripped and pulled longitudinally [51] B65b 43/26 and upwardly while the bottom edge of the bag is held [58] Field of Search........................... 53/384, 390, 3 y a gh b r- The ar h lds the bag until it has been pulled open. Then, the continued pull on the bag References Cited slides it out from under the bar and out of the con- UNITED STATES PATENTS tainer. The bag is open and ready to be packed full of merchandise by the check-out cashier or bagging employee.

2,641,400 Simmons...,........................... 53/390 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 87,441 5 1956 53/384 8 Claims 4 Drawing Figures,

PATENTED DEC 1 l 1915 INVENTOR. .Sidney Frmd 1 BAG-OPENING DISPENSER AND METHOD This invention relates to bag dispensing and opening methods and devices, and particularly to such devices and methods for use in opening and dispensing merchandise bags such as grocery bags.

It is a major object of the present invention to provide a device and method for increasing the speed and decreasing the effort required in opening bags such as grocery and other merchandise bags.

Another object of this invention is to provide a dispenser for compactly storing and permitting the easy removal of such bags.

It is a further object to provide a device which satisfies both of the foregoing objectives, and yet is relatively simple, rugged and inexpensive to manufacture and use.

In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects are met by the provision of a bag-opening dispenser-and method in which the bottom edge of a folded bag whose bottom is folded onto one side-wall and that side-wall are pulled away from one another so that the bag pops open. The dispenser has means for releasably holding the bottom edge of each bag until it has opened, and then allows the bag to be removed.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in or apparent from the following description and drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred bagopening dispenser of the present invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are cross-sectional, schematic views taken along line2-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bag opened by means of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a stack of folded grocery bags rests in a dispensing container 12. The container 12 is generally rectangular. Its inside length is approximately the same as the length of the bags 10, and its inside width is a little greater than the width of the bags. A pair of barriers l4 and 16 partially close the front of the container but leave a relatively wide, open gap through which the front edges of the bag 10 can be grasped. Each barrier 14 and 16 ends considerably below the top of the container 12.

The dispensing container 12 is secured to the side 19 of a supermarket check-out counter. The check-out counter is conventional, and includes an input conveyor and a bagging station. The container 12 is secured near the bagging station. Alternatively, the check-out counter is one which provides automatic or semi-automatic bagging of the groceries as disclosed in my co-pending U.S. patent application entitled Merchandise Bagging Device and Method, filed June 8, 1971. The front of the dispenser 12 faces the check-out operator and cash register. The operator can grasp and open the bags 10 with his or her left hand while facing the check-out counter. The dispenser 12 is supported further by vertical legs 21 and diagonal braces 23.

The bags 10 fit between a pair of guide rails 18 and which extend inwardly from the side walls of the container 12. The rails 18 and 20 are relatively close to the back wall 15 of the container 12 so as to form two vertical grooves at opposite sides of the rear portion of the container 12. Positioned to slide up and down in the grooves so formed is a gripper bar 22 with three rounded rubber extensions or feet 24 secured to its bottom. The bar 22 is made of metal so as to have considerable weight. For example, it can be a steel bar of from 2 to 5 pounds in weight. The grocery bags 10 are entirely conventional kraft paper bags commonly used in grocery stores.

FIG. 4 shows one of the bags 10 when fully opened. The bag includes a bottom wall 32, upper and lower side walls 28 and 30, respectively, .upper corners 29 and lower corners 36. The upper side wall 28 has a cutout portion or notch 26 at its front edge. The bag has two other side walls, each having a central longitudinal fold line 38, and two diagonal bottom fold lines 40 and 42 which form a junction with the longitudinal fold line 38. The upper side wall 28 has a transverse fold line 47 which joins similar fold lines 43 on each side of the bag. The bag is folded along the various fold lines into the shape shown in FIG. 2. In that shape, the portion 45 of the bottom of the bag is folded over onto the upper side wall 28.

When the bag 10 is folded, the bottom is folded over onto the upper side wall 28, as is shown in FIG. 2.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views taken along section line 2-3 of FIG. 1. These figures show how the bag automatically opens when it is removed from the dispenser 12. FIG. 2 shows the uppermost bag 10 on the stack before it is unfolded, and FIG. 3 shows the bag 10 when it is partially removed from the'dispenser.

In using the invention, the person removing the bag from the dispenser grips the upper wall 28 of the bag with his fingers 44 at the cut out 26. The person lifts upwardly in order to raise the bag over the barriers l4 and 16, and simultaneously pulls the bag longitudinally. The direction of pull is indicated by the arrow 46. The weighted bar 22 presses downwardly upon the rubber projections 24 and holds the rear end of the top bag against movement. This causes the bag to unfold and pop open to the form shown in FIG. 4. When the bag is completely open, further pulling on the bag causes it to slip out from under rubber feet 24 and thus allows the bag to be removed from the dispenser. This invention is believed to save the checkout operator in the usual supermarket a considerable amount of time and effort in the usually unwieldly process of opening a grocery bag.

The barriers l4 and 16 are especially advantageous in that they force the operator to lift each bag upwardly in order to get it out of the dispenser. This causes the bottom 32 of the bag to wrap itself around the rubber feet 24 somewhat so as to enhance the gripping of the bottom of the bag and thus ensure that the bag is fully opened. The bar 22 drops down to rest upon the bottom of the next bag below it when the top bag is removed.

Optionally, the floor of the dispensing container12 can be tilted upwardly as shown at 48. This tends to' compensate for the difference in thickness between the rear portion of the stack of bags and the front portion. This difference in thickness is caused by the accumulated thickness of the folded-over bottom portions 45 of the bags in the stack. The wedge-shaped cavity remaining between the tilted bottom 48 and the flat bottom 51 is a convenient space for storage of small bags 49, with their bottoms forward.

The rectangular cross-section of the bar 22 and the dimensions of the vertical track formed by the rails 18 and 20 prevent the bar from twisting about its longitudinal axis when a bag is pulled out from under it.

The above description of the invention is intended to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes or modifications in the embodiments described may occur to those skilled in the art and these can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

1 claim:

1. A method of opening a folded bag having a bottom portion folded over onto one side wall of the bag, said method comprising the step of pulling said one side wall and the bottom edge of the folded bag away from one another by holding said bottom edge stationary and pulling longitudinally on said side wall until said bottom wall is separated from said side wall.

2. A method as in claim 1 in which said folded bag is substantially horizontal and said one wall is pulled vertically as well as longitudinally.

3. A method as in claim 1 including arranging a plurality of said bags in a stack, each bag having a foldedover bottom section, with the side of said opposite edge which is on the same side as said folded-over section being accessible, ahd holding said bottom edge stationary by pressing down on it.

4. A method as in claim 1 in which each of said bags has a longitudinal fold line on each side, diagonal fo'ld lines joining the bottom corners of said bag and said longitudinal fold lines, and a bottom fold line extending across said bag and intersecting the intersection of said diagonal fold lines.

5. A bag-opening dispenser comprising a container for an array of folded bags, means in said container for releasably gripping the bottom edge of at least one bag in said array with a force sufficient to hold the bag against a longitudinal pulling force until the bottom of said bag is unfolded, said gripping means including a weighted member bearing against said bottom edge, said container having track means for guiding said weighted member in vertical movement and holding said weighted member against rotation, said container being shaped to provide access for grasping the opposite edge of said one bag.

6. A dispenser as in claim 5 in which said container has frontally-located partial barriers whose dimensions are such as to force each bag to be lifted upwardly from a substantially horizontal position to be removed from said container.

7. A dispenser as in claim 5 in which said weighted member has at least one lower surface which is rounded on its edge facing the front of said container and has a gripping surface made of a resilient material with a relatively high co-efficient of friction.

8. A dispenser as in claim 7, said weighted member comprising a rectilinear metal bar having a plurality of substantially hemispherical rubber feet on its bottom surface, said bar spanning said bags and having its ends in said tracks adjacent the rear of said container, said barriers forming a relatively wide vertical access slot in the front of said container. 

1. A method of opening a folded bag having a bottom portion folded over onto one side wall of the bag, said method comprising the step of pulling said one side wall and the bottom edge of the folded bag away from one another by holding said bottom edge stationary and pulling longitudinally on said side wall until said bottom wall is separated from said side wall.
 2. A method as in claim 1 in which said folded bag is substantially horizontal and said one wall is pulled vertically as well as longitudinally.
 3. A method as in claim 1 including arranging a plurality of said bags in a stack, each bag having a folded-over bottom section, with the side of said opposite edge which is on the same side as said folded-over section being accessible, ahd holding said bottom edge stationary by pressing down on it.
 4. A method as in claim 1 in which each of said bags has a longitudinal fold line on each side, diagonal fold lines joining the bottom corners of said bag and said longitudinal fold lines, and a bottom fold line extending across said bag and intersecting the intersection of said diagonal fold lines.
 5. A bag-opening dispenser comprising a container for an array of folded bags, means in said container for releasably gripping the bottom edge of at least one bag in said array with a force sufficient to hold the bag against a longitudinal pulling force until the bottom of said bag is unfolded, said gripping means including a weighted member bearing against said bottom edge, said container having track means for guiding said weighted member in vertical movement and holding said weighted member against rotation, said container being shaped to provide access for grasping the opposite edge of said one bag.
 6. A dispenser as in claim 5 in which said container has frontally-located partial barriers whose dimensions are such as to force each bag to be lifted upwardly from a substantially horizontal position to be removed from said container.
 7. A dispenser as in claim 5 in which said weighted member has at least one lower surface which is rounded on its edge facing the front of said container and has a gripping surface made of a resilient material with a relatively high co-efficient of friction.
 8. A dispenser as in claim 7, said weighted member comprising a rectilinear metal bar having a plurality of substantially hemispherical rubber feet on its bottom surface, said bar spanning said bags and having its ends in said tracks adjacent the rear of said container, said barriers forming a relatively wide vertical access slot in the front of said container. 